Dollhouse

Dollhouse Kitchen: Making a Tablecloth

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It’s Friday! I hope you have had a wonderful week. I know life can really distract with all it’s “have-to’s” and adult responsibilities but I truly hope and pray you are able to find a way to add your own unique, unmatched magic to everything you do. The world truly needs your magic.

For me, I have been thinking all things Christmas. I know, it’s not even Thanksgiving and I promise you I am a bit of a seasonal/holiday purist. Nothing gets decorated until the season is (in my opinion) upon us. I really like enjoying what is and right now it is fall and I love this season. I love the colors and the falling leaves so I don’t want to rush forward.

The holiday shopping however does take a bit more than the season allows.  In addition to the holidays my oldest daughter’s birthday is in December so once Thanksgiving hits, like many of you I am sure, time runs out.

And I do love making holiday gifts. Handmade gifts became a part of our family holidays about 8 years ago when I made these sweet felt dolls for each of my children. It was the first time I made anything like that and they have so many mistakes that I see now but the kids loved them. So I have extended things a bit and I am going to be sharing more about all my handmade gifts as the season goes on but for today I wanted to share a bit of a childhood dollhouse update.

As you may know I have been working in the kitchen of the dollhouse and I am happy to say that I have finished the stove! It looks so sweet and I have an idea to make a crocheted granny towel to hang from the handle. I had a great aunt who used to make us the kitchen towels that were crocheted on the top and would secure to your stove handle with a button and I just thought my little dollhouse kitchen needs one of these. I have never made one so it will go in the ideas list for now but I really think it will be fun.

You may notice a refrigerator hanging out in the back corner. I still need to do some sanding and probably a bit more wood filler to fill in the top to fill in the rounded look. I am going for a vintage style refrigerator and I used this tutorial for my measurements and initial instructions but I am changing things up a bit as I go. It’s a great tutorial if you want to make one yourself.

I have also made a table all on my own which I am pretty proud of. It’s a simple project of course but still it’s nice to have something be all your idea and creation. For the chairs I followed this tutorial and they came out really sweet. I need to still sand and paint them all but I really wanted to make a table cloth. I have some fabric I picked up for my handmade Christmas gifts and picked one that it so sweet and I love that it doesn’t perfectly match anything in the kitchen. It adds a bit to the whimsy of the whole space that I enjoy.

I was originally thinking of sewing the table cloth but in the end I decided to just glue myself some hems and add the corners so it draped nicely and away I went. It was a fun project that was a nice break from some of my other projects.

There is still more to do in the kitchen. I keep thinking I am almost done then I remember things like molding and refrigerator doors but there is no rush of course. I am finding that this project in particular is really my relaxing project when I need a bit of a break from the things that need doing all day long. I have even noticed that if I don’t work on something miniature in a day I can be a bit crabby which I find interesting. There is something about the tininess of the project that automatically makes me smile.

I hope you enjoyed today’s post and I hope you are getting on with some miniatures of your own. Please comment below and let me know what you are working on.

You can also watch the video of my making the tablecloth below if you would like.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

The Puzzle Cottage: Step #1 Putting it Together

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Hello,

In today’s dollhouse post I am sharing my thoughts on the 3D dollhouse kit I received for my birthday. I will also link below the video I made if you would like to watch.

Overall I am very happy with this item. It went together pretty quickly. I would say all in all it maybe took me an hour to put it all together. The only thing I would say is that I ended up asking for some help from my husband just to help me align and snap some of the pieces together. This had more to do with my own wanting to make sure I had assembled things together correctly before potentially snapping parts as I tried to force them together. Otherwise I would say that you most definitely can do this on your own.

I didn’t necessarily have a plan for this dollhouse and I am still working that out but it looks absolutely adorable. I picked up some Calico Critters from Barnes and Noble and I am thinking of giving the little elephant family their very own cottage in the woods. The poor dears are currently staying in the unfinished childhood dollhouse and they really do need their own place.

I have some ideas on the exterior but really haven’t thought much about the interior design so I’ll be sure to keep you updated. I have the furniture kit that came with the house so I may start putting those items together and let them lead me in the way of decor so that should be fun.

If you are thinking of getting one of these I would say go for it. They go together quickly, are very inexpensive and if you just love decorating houses this is a great way to get started. You also can choose to purchase just the house without the furniture which is a great option if you are someone who likes to make your own furniture.

Well that’s it for this week. I am looking forward to getting some more work on the childhood dollhouse done to share with you all next Friday so stay tuned! The kitchen is coming together nicely and I have two more furniture pieces just about done for it.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Dollhouse Update: Sinks, Stoves & Stairs

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Hello everyone! I hope your week has been lovely and that maybe you were able to get in some creative time.

I am having one of those weeks where everything I try to do, doesn’t! If you read my post on Monday you know I am trying to make some Coraline inspired dolls for my kids and they are just not working out. I decided instead to just put them aside and try again next week. I did want them for Halloween but I remind myself that I make them for enjoyment and if I am stressing and getting frustrated that’s the opposite of enjoyment.

Since it is Friday however I wanted to share a little dollhouse update with you. I am making some nice progress on my childhood dollhouse. I finished 3 pieces of furniture. A bathroom sink which was my first furniture piece made from scratch. While it is quite wonky and unique I really loved making it and that is the most important thing.

Next I made the kitchen sink and some curtains for the kitchen and I just love the fabric! It works so well against the wallpaper. The curtain rod is one my mom used when she first decorated my dollhouse when I was probably around 5 or 6 years old. It’s nice having that little nod to the past hidden amidst all the new.

I also made a little cupboard that I planned to put in the kitchen but instead decided to add to the upstairs hall and it looks so cute! I am already imagining a small vase of flowers sitting on it.

Lastly I am working on a stove and brick surround. It is so sweet and I think I have finalized it’s location but I would love to hear your ideas.

In addition to the dollhouse makes I am so excited about my new serial I am making based on the dollhouse! It’s going to be a fantasy mystery style story that I will share in installments each week here on my blog and my Substack. I have already started chapter 1 and I am having so much fun!

So that is my update for the dollhouse! I hope you enjoy hearing about the project and if you would like you can see the video about the update below. Be sure to comment and let me know what you are working on I would love to hear!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Junk Journal MashUp

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Happy Monday!

I hope you had a wonderful weekend. The weather here in the North East was absolutely beautiful and we were very excited to celebrate my youngest Baptism on Saturday. It was a small, private ceremony and dear friends acted as godparents. After we went to my daughter’s favorite restaurant. The entire celebration was perfect!

I also was able to get in some more dollhouse time and I am working on a brick wall which should be really fun! I cannot wait to share that update. I may need to sit it aside however since my kids have requested Coraline dolls for Halloween.

If you have been visiting my little corner of the web for a while you may know that I like to make little gifts for my kids on the holidays. I purchased this Coraline-style doll pattern last year thinking I would make them for Christmas but ended up doing other gifts for the. Now that Halloween is only 6 days away it makes sense that I try and tackle 3 fabric dolls between now and then right?

We shall see how they get on and I will even try to film some of it for you. It will however require a massive desk clean as I have been in the midst of 2 projects right now so I think today I will start with a good clean up and then try my hand at making the dolls. I had to order some fabric (it would seem everything I chose to pack up is now required) which came in Friday and I picked up some felt sheets at the craft store for the clothing. I think they will go together pretty quickly so I am happy to get started.

For today however I am sharing a fun little junk journal mash up. As we were going through our attic, basement and barn we found lots of papers and things that were saved. The certificate from when I purchased my love bird back in the late 90’s, some cards and even some items much more recent. I am trying to keep my “junk journal” supplies to one small box and when it starts to overflow that’s when I sit down and do a few pages. It was so much fun. I absolutely love this journal I made and I think the pages are coming out nicely as well.

If you have some crafts to work on, why not hit play below and join me for about 15 minutes of creative time? I would love to hear what you are working on!

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante

Dollhouse Day: Haul Video & New Items

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Happy Friday!

I wanted to come on here to share some new items I picked up for my dollhouse as well as some items I received for my birthday.

The video is a little choppy and I am sorry for that. I filmed it in different sections and it wasn’t until I was going to edit that I decided I wanted them to be a video all on their own. Still I think you will enjoy seeing what I got.

The first things were items from Miniature Crush. This was my first time ordering from them and I am really happy with my purchase.

In the video below you can see my purchases but I ordered a 3 pack of adorable guinea pigs which I really just love! They are so sweet! I was going to also make them a little C&C cage like we had for my real life guinea pigs but my son suggested just having them placed randomly in the house and I kind of love that idea!

I also purchased these pretty door knobs for the interior doors of the bedroom and bathroom. I am building my own doors so these are going to work out really well.

While I was shopping around I saw they had these little light switches and I loved the idea of adding this detail to the rooms. I am considering decorating them first but we will have to see how ambitious I get.

I had originally started my order because I needed to get these faucets for the upstairs bathroom and these railings for the bottom of the staircase. I am happy with these as well and think that the spindles may need to be trimmed a bit but that they will look great once they are all painted.

I also was kindly gifted some lovely dollhouse items for my birthday. The first was this book on building a garden shed by Julie Warren. If you haven’t visited Julie’s channel I always recommend it. She is such a talented miniaturist and an amazing teacher. I also received another of her books on building furniture and there are some really wonderful projects. The last item is the puzzle dollhouse and furniture. I had mentioned in the video I thought it might be 1/24th scale but it’s actually half scale from what I was able to research. I am still thinking of putting this together soon I have so many ideas! I was also realizing that I haven’t added anything to the Alice’s Dreamy Bedroom room box since the first video and I was wondering if you would like to see more on that? I also have a Christmas room box kit I would love to get done for the holidays!

The last items were from The House of Miniatures and I was able to pick up 3 kits on Ebay. I am going to use the Chippendale Desk Kit (Kit #40042) to make new pieces for my old childhood kit I had put together in 1988. It’s missing a drawer and the drop down so I am going to use this kit as a template to remake those parts and then use the new kit to make furniture for another project.

As part of this purchase I also received the Chippendale Low Boy (Kit #40024) which I may put in the living room right next to the front door.  Lastly I received the Chippendale chest on chest (Kit #40009) that I think might go in the bedroom along with the desk.

So there you have it! Lots of fun dollhouse ideas. What do you think, should add to the Alice Dreamy Bedroom or start up the puzzle house? Please let me know if the comments.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante


 

This Week in the Studio: Frustrations with Starting a New Business

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Happy Monday!

Today I am sharing my weekly studio vlog and it was a bit of a challenge. Most of the week went well as I was able to get some studio clean up done and I also set up my new writing binder for a new story I am working on. I have signed up for a Self-Publishing course and I am really excited for it. To prepare I began with getting my current work in progress. I write all new stories by hand first in a notebook. My first edit comes when I type it into my computer. There is something about writing hand to paper that just connects me to the story in a way the keys don’t. It’s a fun way to get to know my characters and their world.

I set up a binder which is a new system for me, that is going to hold all my story information. Characters, worlds, plot, chapters that sort of thing. In addition to the one I am writing there are several others waiting to be edited so they can be self-published. I would love to have a book ready by the end of the year to publish-even it’s just all the editing is done.

When I first saw the class I was really excited and signed up for the waiting list. I have been following the author for a while and I really love her approach to career and this course feels in alignment with my own career goals. I’ll be sure to keep you posted as to how it’s all going.

The other goal I had this week was to print the sticker sheets I have been creating and add them to my shop. Theoretically this was going to be easy. The hard part of conception and creating the art was over right? I was so wrong.

I have been wanting to turn my art into stickers forever and I have tried over the years and basically ended up really, really unhappy with my cutting machines.

I finally thought I had it all worked out and then the machine (my newest one) was giving me issues. I managed to solve those issues only to have my printer give me problems. In the end, I have re-designed my stickers and I have one sheet available for purchase-woohoo!!! I am very hopeful that I will have the rest of the stickers done and ready for purchase by the end of the week.

To celebrate the sticker sheets are shipping for free so yay! You can purchase a sheet here if, like me, you love your coffee too 🙂

I will also share a secret little item that, for now, only you my faithful blog readers will know about. I have a new journal for sale in my shop too! If you have been following along in my Make a Journal Series this is the journal I make and this Friday the last of the videos will go live. I will also promote this journal for sale so if you would like to pick it up before then you can find it here.

So that was what was going on this week in the studio. I have lots of new projects in the works and I am hoping to have some new dollhouse content up if I could just decide on the upstairs flooring. I still think I want full carpeting but I am really not sure. I will keep you posted.

I hope your summer is going well. My oldest two have been enjoying camp for the past few weeks and I have been playing chauffeur. Looking forward to next week when the schedule quiets down for a few before another week of camp.

Until next time…

-Michele, aka The Dreaming Dilettante